Day in the Life: OTR, Dispatch & the Road at Bulk

1 00:00:00,800 --> 00:00:07,240 You ever have one of those days where everything goes exactly how you planned? Yeah. Me either. Uh, 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,960 but because if you work in trucking, especially at a place like bulk, you already know the deal. You 3 00:00:11,960 --> 00:00:18,600 can wake up at 3 a.m., you can have your whole day mapped out. And by 730, that plan has found 4 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:25,040 a permanent home in the round file. A load might get moved, customer might push you back. Dispatch 5 00:00:25,040 --> 00:00:30,760 might call and say, hey, don't be mad. But, uh, and now you're going someplace completely different. 6 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:35,280 The day has totally changed. But here's the thing. And this is what I love about our upcoming 7 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:41,280 episode here. That chaos that we're talking about, it's not just happening to the drivers. It's 8 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:46,200 happening in the office, too. Phones are ringing, loads are canceling. New ones are popping up out 9 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:52,759 of nowhere. Somebody stuck. Somebody late. Somebody's broken down. And somehow all of it 10 00:00:52,759 --> 00:00:58,520 still works. So today we're pulling back the curtain a little bit. We've got drivers, we've got 11 00:00:58,610 --> 00:01:03,930 dispatch. We've got the people actually making this thing run. And we're answering the simple 12 00:01:03,930 --> 00:01:10,809 question, what does a day in the life at bulk really look like? Spoiler 13 00:01:10,809 --> 00:01:17,489 alert there's a lot. You are listening to. Always pneumatic, never 14 00:01:17,489 --> 00:01:23,370 static. The Totally Pressurized podcast, brought to you by Bulk Transit, where we keep the lines clear, 15 00:01:23,370 --> 00:01:28,409 the tanks empty, and the conversation anything but dry. Whether you're running powder pellets or 16 00:01:28,410 --> 00:01:32,729 anything in between. Pull up a seat. Crack the windows and let's hit it. 17 00:01:35,370 --> 00:01:41,409 Bulk and Spur. How's it going out there? Welcome into always pneumatic, never static. I am your host, 18 00:01:41,410 --> 00:01:47,449 Marcus. Thank you so much for being here today. We've got a great episode planned for you, and I 19 00:01:47,449 --> 00:01:52,009 will give you a bit of a spoiler alert here. Already did the interview. In fact, I just finished 20 00:01:52,009 --> 00:01:58,870 it and wow, this one was awesome. A lot of fun, a lot of insight. And really what I would 21 00:01:58,870 --> 00:02:04,470 call, as I said in the cold open, a great peek behind the curtain. You really do get to see a 22 00:02:04,470 --> 00:02:10,830 little bit about the relationship between drivers and dispatch office and on the road in this 23 00:02:10,830 --> 00:02:16,949 episode, so stay tuned. We're bringing in four bulk employees to talk to us, two office 24 00:02:17,390 --> 00:02:23,429 employees and two drivers. And I really like the way that you can see things from both sides of 25 00:02:23,429 --> 00:02:28,190 the aisle. Here with our upcoming interview. So stick around. I'll get to that in just a second. 26 00:02:28,229 --> 00:02:35,110 We've got Mike Upchurch, Bryan Alexander, Lu Ann Saunders, and Sara Litzinger joining us today, 27 00:02:35,110 --> 00:02:41,439 and it is a fun conversation. I really enjoyed it, but the thing went almost like it's like 52 or 53 28 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:45,149 minutes long. So I'm going to keep this intro short so that we can get to the meat of the 29 00:02:45,149 --> 00:02:49,469 episode, because that's the real good stuff. Uh, homework assignment. You know what's coming down 30 00:02:49,470 --> 00:02:56,039 the pike. Podcast dot Bulk transit.com is the website that's our landing page for the podcast. 31 00:02:56,039 --> 00:03:02,080 And not only can you listen to episodes there, but you can find out everything about each episode. 32 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:08,160 They're who we're talking to, what we're talking about, and as we continue to produce more episodes, 33 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:12,880 sooner or later we'll be able to kind of silo those things off into playlists for you. So if you 34 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:18,200 want to listen to something about safety, there'll be a full playlist there of safety episodes for 35 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:23,039 you or sort of day in the life type stuff like we're doing today. There'll be a playlist for that. 36 00:03:23,039 --> 00:03:28,800 So that's coming down the pike. We just got to get enough podcast episodes to where we actually have 37 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:34,039 enough to make a playlist. And since we're still under ten right now, that's going to take a little 38 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:40,519 bit of time. But the website is up and running again. podcast.bulktransit.com. My guy 39 00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:47,079 Tyler working his magic there. The cool thing about the website is everything that we're going 40 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:52,600 to do there, all the quizzes and everything like that live on the website. You can find the podcast 41 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:56,609 at Spotify or Apple or Google or what have you, but you're not going to be able to interact with 42 00:03:56,609 --> 00:04:02,169 it quite the way that people that are going to the website are. So I highly recommend just 43 00:04:02,170 --> 00:04:07,610 bookmarking that page on your phone or your tablet or your computer wherever you're at when 44 00:04:07,610 --> 00:04:12,330 you're listening to this. My guess would be most of you drivers out there probably bookmark it on 45 00:04:12,330 --> 00:04:16,570 your phone and then it's just simple, easy. All you got to do is pull it up every Wednesday morning 46 00:04:16,570 --> 00:04:22,849 and bam, you got a brand new hour content that's all about bulk transit right there in your hand. 47 00:04:22,849 --> 00:04:29,489 So bookmark the website podcast.bulktransit.com and make sure that you're going 48 00:04:29,530 --> 00:04:34,489 there to interact with the quizzes and find out anything else you know. If we end up with a photo 49 00:04:34,489 --> 00:04:39,249 gallery, sometimes we have drivers send pictures into us. Sometimes we'll ask you guys for some 50 00:04:39,249 --> 00:04:43,849 pictures. If we're doing an episode that's kind of themed around something like that, that's where 51 00:04:43,850 --> 00:04:49,249 all that stuff will live. You'll end up finding that there at the website. Uh, once again, podcast 52 00:04:49,249 --> 00:04:54,670 dot bulk transit.com. And for those of you that are interested in joining the podcast, being on 53 00:04:54,670 --> 00:05:01,189 the podcast. There is an email link there for me as well. You can get right to my pocket by going 54 00:05:01,189 --> 00:05:07,949 over to the website, or if you are acquainted with any of the drivers or the office staff that have 55 00:05:07,950 --> 00:05:12,030 been on the podcast before, and you guys hear me, you're going to hear me say this so much like, 56 00:05:12,030 --> 00:05:17,789 this is something I will say in almost every episode. If somebody's been on this podcast and 57 00:05:17,790 --> 00:05:24,149 you are acquainted with them, get my contact info from them. I care not if you guys share my my 58 00:05:24,149 --> 00:05:31,029 phone number around like it's a junior high show game. Okay, just spread it like wildfire. Since 59 00:05:31,029 --> 00:05:35,548 you're not the only people listening to this podcast, I'm not going to give my phone number out 60 00:05:35,589 --> 00:05:42,189 on the air, but maybe someday I'll lose a bet and you guys can talk me into that. Okay, for now, just 61 00:05:42,190 --> 00:05:47,310 go to the website, take the quizzes, enjoy yourself there, find out all of the episodes that we've 62 00:05:47,310 --> 00:05:54,240 been producing and what they're about. It's all their podcast.bulktransit.com. Enough homework for today. 63 00:05:54,279 --> 00:06:01,160 This episode we kind of idea this thing as what is a day in the life 64 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:05,879 like. And we thought, well, a driver is going to have a much different day in the life than, say, 65 00:06:05,880 --> 00:06:11,880 somebody in the shop or somebody in the office. What if we went ahead and just tried to get a few 66 00:06:11,880 --> 00:06:16,320 different people in, so we could kind of get a sprinkle of the day in the life from multiple 67 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:21,640 different viewpoints? And that's exactly what we were able to do today. Uh, we've got Lu and Sara 68 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:26,159 joining us from the Foster terminal, and they are basically Sara is going to handle most of the 69 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:32,760 dispatch. Of course, you've got, um, Lu there she is, the office manager. She also does handle a little 70 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:38,600 bit of dispatch from time to time. So we're going to get a really good take on what things are like 71 00:06:38,640 --> 00:06:43,599 at the foster terminal in kind of dispatch and the office management side of things for the 72 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:48,439 driver's side. You know, we're going to represent that side on this show. We've got Mike Upchurch 73 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:54,209 and Bryan Alexander joining us. And the types of driving that they do are just slightly different. 74 00:06:54,289 --> 00:06:58,889 I'm sure they've done some of the things, uh, the same as the other guy from time to time, but 75 00:06:58,970 --> 00:07:05,209 sounds like Bryan's kind of delivering some, uh, construction sites and Mikes OTR. So, uh, some 76 00:07:05,209 --> 00:07:09,849 really good insight coming up on this interview. I highly recommend you stick around because it's 77 00:07:09,850 --> 00:07:11,369 coming up right now. 78 00:07:19,649 --> 00:07:25,529 Welcome back into Always Pneumatic, Never Static. I am so excited about this next interview. You know, 79 00:07:25,530 --> 00:07:30,769 a lot of times on this show, we'll talk to drivers or we'll talk to office staff. Sometimes we get 80 00:07:30,769 --> 00:07:36,769 them in here together. And today we've got a full house four Bulk and Spur. Employees in, uh, are 81 00:07:36,850 --> 00:07:41,488 joining us right now. And, uh, going to welcome back to the show first, the only one that's been here 82 00:07:41,489 --> 00:07:47,699 before. Say hello to Mike Upchurch. Mike, thank you so much for joining us today, my friend. Absolutely, 83 00:07:47,700 --> 00:07:54,260 sir. And where are you at right now, Mike? Uh, don't just mount to Jonesboro, Arkansas. Okay. And are we 84 00:07:54,300 --> 00:08:00,938 are we headed back towards home, or are we headed out? Uh, headed out. Uh, Nestlé. Nestlé? Uh, they did a 85 00:08:00,939 --> 00:08:07,779 lot of Hot Pockets and the spaghetti dinners and stuff like that. That's my kind of. Stop right 86 00:08:07,779 --> 00:08:12,419 there, Mike. That's how I get inside. There would be real good, but they got it locked down like an 87 00:08:12,419 --> 00:08:17,298 armored armored car there. So, yeah, they always they always keep all the good stuff away from 88 00:08:17,299 --> 00:08:23,540 prying eyes, don't they? Yes, sir. It's food grade, so. Yes, sir. Gotcha, gotcha. Well, thanks for joining us, 89 00:08:23,540 --> 00:08:29,340 Mike. Always a pleasure to have you, uh, our second driver. Oh, of course, of course. Our second driver 90 00:08:29,379 --> 00:08:33,419 joining us today is making his first appearance on the show, and we're happy to have him. Please 91 00:08:33,419 --> 00:08:38,139 welcome Bryan Alexander. Brian, appreciate the time, man. How's everything going for you today? 92 00:08:38,379 --> 00:08:44,059 Absolutely. No problem. It's going well. Uh, you know, we we had a little heat wave here in Ohio for 93 00:08:44,060 --> 00:08:48,918 about two days, and now we're back down to freezing so we could get it back together. We love 94 00:08:48,919 --> 00:08:53,759 our days even more. Yeah, I hear you, but what fun would it be if you could predict the weather? 95 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:57,959 Bryan, that would be no fun at all for a job like you do. I mean, all that trip planning, you'd get 96 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:03,000 ahead on all that stuff. That's. No, that's no good. That's for the birds, right? Oh, yeah. Fly by the 97 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:10,000 minute. Amen, brother. Amen. And where are you at right now, Bryan? Uh, I'm north of Dayton, 98 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:16,879 almost into a little town called Lima, Ohio, taking some submit to a road job up here. Okay. And, uh, 99 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:20,679 Mike, I've already established this stuff with Mike because he's been on the show before. But I 100 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:26,478 always like to ask our guests on the podcast, how long have you been working for Bulk? Um, I'm 101 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:33,079 actually a week away from my year anniversary. Hey, how about that? Hang on a second. I've got a button 102 00:09:33,080 --> 00:09:39,519 for that, for sure. Give him a round of applause for one year. That's awesome. Congratulations. 103 00:09:40,159 --> 00:09:46,890 You like it? Appreciate it. You like it so far? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Never the same thing every day. And, uh, 104 00:09:47,169 --> 00:09:52,330 always get to meet some new faces. So I'm, uh, I'm right where I need to be. No complaints. That's 105 00:09:52,330 --> 00:09:56,728 awesome. Brian. Well, thank you for joining us today. Looking forward to hearing a bit more about your 106 00:09:56,729 --> 00:10:03,649 day to day. Uh, also joining us here, we've got our office manager and dispatcher from the 107 00:10:03,650 --> 00:10:09,809 foster terminal. Lu. Lu. Welcome to the show. Thank you so much for being here today. Thank you for 108 00:10:09,810 --> 00:10:15,329 having me. Of course. And you brought along a sidekick with you today. We've got, uh, Sara 109 00:10:15,329 --> 00:10:20,329 Litzinger joining you. She's the administrative assistant out there at Foster. Sara, thank you for 110 00:10:20,330 --> 00:10:27,049 the time. Thank you for having me. Um, Sara. Also oes 99% of the dispatching. The only time 111 00:10:27,049 --> 00:10:33,889 I dispatch is when Sara is out. Okay, well, you got to change up that email signature. Sara, get that 112 00:10:33,889 --> 00:10:38,329 get that title on there. So a guy like me can give you the, uh, the flowers that you deserve. Because 113 00:10:38,330 --> 00:10:43,658 dispatch is not an easy job. That's all right. I'd rather stay under the radar. 114 00:10:44,659 --> 00:10:50,499 Understandable, understandable. Now, Lu, how long have you been working for Bulk? Because I 115 00:10:50,499 --> 00:10:57,339 understand. It's it's you've you've got some time under your belt. 14 years as of last August. I feel 116 00:10:57,340 --> 00:11:03,979 like that deserves a round of applause as well. 14 years. That's amazing. What's kept you here for all 117 00:11:03,979 --> 00:11:10,700 that time, Lu? It's just they're good people. I mean, they treat you like 118 00:11:10,739 --> 00:11:17,419 family. Where else? I've never worked anywhere. But at 2:00 in the morning, you can 119 00:11:17,419 --> 00:11:23,419 actually get a hold of an owner. Wow. That's saying something. When there's problems that go down. 120 00:11:23,460 --> 00:11:30,019 Right? Okay, I, I love that. And, Sara, how about you? How long have you been with Bulk? I've been here 121 00:11:30,020 --> 00:11:36,178 six years. In February. I started out as part-time, but my husband was actually a driver here and got 122 00:11:36,179 --> 00:11:42,640 me looped into the family network, and I've stuck it out since then. Well that's awesome. I think six 123 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:47,760 years deserves a round of applause, too. We're just giving everybody a round of applause today. Uh. 124 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:52,400 That's great. I love having long tenured employees on, because I feel like you get to go just a 125 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:56,918 little bit deeper, uh, with with what we're going to talk about here today. Because the reason I've 126 00:11:56,919 --> 00:12:02,039 brought you all on and the reason I love having kind of a diverse group of people, as far as the 127 00:12:02,039 --> 00:12:06,919 jobs are concerned, is we're here to talk about a day in the life of Bulk. Let's figure out what 128 00:12:06,919 --> 00:12:13,200 it's like for some of the drivers, for some of the office staff, just what does a day at this job 129 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:18,639 entail? And, uh, let's just start off, I want a round table. This one, I'm just going to kind of go 130 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:25,519 around the board. Uh, I'll start with you, Mike. Um, what time does your day start, Mike? And what's 131 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:31,599 the very first thing that you're dealing with, uh, when you're starting your day out there? Well, 132 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:37,358 usually all different times. So I'll start with the day. Day over eggs. I kind of do, uh, some over, 133 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:44,289 over the road stuff and some of the local stuff. But this morning I got a quick 3:00, went down to 134 00:12:44,289 --> 00:12:51,250 the yard and, uh, some I got my information from my load, but I've done my pre-trip and everything on 135 00:12:51,250 --> 00:12:58,049 my truck and trailer and it hooked up, uh, hooked it up at the same time there and then left out, 136 00:12:58,090 --> 00:13:04,889 uh, by 4:00 area. I left out and stopped, uh, got through the 137 00:13:04,890 --> 00:13:10,009 traffic and stuff. I had a little bit of construction coming up and stopped very, uh, little 138 00:13:10,010 --> 00:13:16,609 town, uh, about an hour out, about two hours out and, uh, got fuel and done my, uh, my 139 00:13:16,849 --> 00:13:23,489 take it back so far, about five hours out. And I stopped about an hour from us. Got the, uh, fuel and 140 00:13:23,489 --> 00:13:29,529 and, uh, through my 30 minute break and then headed up on up to the Jonesboro. Okay. So your day can be 141 00:13:29,530 --> 00:13:34,568 a little bit diverse when it starts out, but, uh, it sounds like most of the time you're you're up 142 00:13:34,569 --> 00:13:40,978 pretty early. 3 a.m.. That's that's wild in my view. You know, I try to put this in my, my 143 00:13:40,979 --> 00:13:46,339 perspective just for a second. There's days where you're getting out of bed, getting ready to go do 144 00:13:46,379 --> 00:13:51,218 your job. Where? I haven't gone to bed yet. Over here on the West Coast, Mike. And that just blows 145 00:13:51,219 --> 00:13:58,059 my mind, my friend. Yeah. Sorry. Yes. It's floating. Floating. Times. Floating times. A lot of 146 00:13:58,059 --> 00:14:04,780 time there. What's what's the latest you'll ever get started, Mike? No, no. Overnight or a lot of 147 00:14:04,780 --> 00:14:09,859 times. I'll wait. My wife goes to work. It'll be nine, 9 or 10. Probably the yard. And it head out 148 00:14:09,859 --> 00:14:16,579 for her for the next day. Next day. Load the overnight load. Okay, so a little bit. Sometimes you 149 00:14:16,579 --> 00:14:22,859 get to sleep in just a little bit is what you're saying? Uh, yes. There's sleep in the coffee and a 150 00:14:22,859 --> 00:14:28,139 lot of times breakfast that morning. So. Okay. It makes it makes it nice. Yeah. For sure. Nothing like 151 00:14:28,140 --> 00:14:33,379 going out on the road with a full stomach, man. And for the homemade wrappers a lot. Some leftovers. So 152 00:14:33,380 --> 00:14:39,520 it's a nice box. It's a good day. Nice. Nice. Bryan. What's, uh, what's a typical day look like for you? 153 00:14:39,559 --> 00:14:44,640 When does it start? What's the first type of thing that you're dealing with out there? Um, just like 154 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:50,359 Mike was saying, it's. It varies. I've gone up and left the house at 1 a.m. yesterday. I got to leave 155 00:14:50,360 --> 00:14:56,839 the house about 6:30 a.m.. Felt like I slept in quite a bit yesterday. Um, today I was back up and 156 00:14:56,839 --> 00:15:02,359 moving about 3:00. Left the house about 330. Lucky for me, I'm only about 15 minutes away from our 157 00:15:02,359 --> 00:15:09,120 yard. Um, so I'll get to the yard, grab my paperwork, hop in my truck, do my pre-trip on my truck, 158 00:15:09,120 --> 00:15:15,639 find the trailer, do the same thing there, and then I'm off to get loaded. Kind of depends on what 159 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:22,400 product I'm hauling as far as what the load is going to look like. We got about seven different 160 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:26,840 products we haul out of my terminal, so it just kind of depends on what, uh, what fell down the 161 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:33,399 seniority line and what I picked. And everything else is pretty basic. You know, you you hope to 162 00:15:33,570 --> 00:15:40,329 skip rush hour in any of the major cities, but you always get stuck in and it seems like. And, uh, yeah, 163 00:15:40,329 --> 00:15:45,969 it's, uh, although the product can be different and the places you go are different, you tend to catch 164 00:15:45,969 --> 00:15:52,010 up on, uh, everything being pretty normal. You know, he hopes to not run into any too much 165 00:15:52,010 --> 00:15:57,289 construction or any wrecks flow in your back or anything like that today seem to be pretty smooth. 166 00:15:57,289 --> 00:16:03,889 Although my dispatch location got changed on me halfway through my deliver, my first delivery. But, 167 00:16:03,930 --> 00:16:10,130 uh oh, Sara. Just keep on. Keep showing your toes. There you go. Okay, well, this is cool, because now I 168 00:16:10,130 --> 00:16:14,689 know that, Sara, you might not have dispatched that load for Bryan, but maybe you can speak to me 169 00:16:14,689 --> 00:16:20,329 a little bit about what happens when, uh, something like that. What Bryan just described happens where, 170 00:16:20,329 --> 00:16:24,089 uh, dispatch kind of changes something right in the middle of the load. Is that something that 171 00:16:24,090 --> 00:16:28,329 happens frequently? Is that something that you guys are kind of used to talk me through it a 172 00:16:28,329 --> 00:16:35,059 little bit? Sara. Yeah, it's for the most part, it is not typically normal, but it can be 173 00:16:35,060 --> 00:16:41,459 normal. But we here at Foster, we load out of one of two places, so we already pretty well know 174 00:16:41,460 --> 00:16:46,619 where everything's set up. But the delivery location can change and stuff. So yeah, I mean 175 00:16:46,659 --> 00:16:52,739 we're just kind of a fly by seat, pick up that phone call and say, hey, sorry to do this, but we've 176 00:16:52,739 --> 00:16:59,059 got to reroute you to someplace else. And Bryan, when you hear that call come through, uh, is it 177 00:16:59,060 --> 00:17:03,058 something that, uh, does it does it get under your skin? Does it frustrate you, or is it just kind of 178 00:17:03,100 --> 00:17:09,539 par for the course? And you know that sometimes it happens. Uh, it comes with the territory. I, uh, I try 179 00:17:09,579 --> 00:17:13,779 to let things slide right off, and that way doesn't. I mean, when you're talking about getting 180 00:17:13,780 --> 00:17:18,059 that phone call 430, 5:00 in the morning, it's going to make for a long day if you let that 181 00:17:18,060 --> 00:17:24,339 start your day off the wrong way. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. So you just kind of like I said, stay on your toes. 182 00:17:24,339 --> 00:17:28,620 Whatever. Whatever we need as long. I mean, I'd rather be sitting somewhere else than the 183 00:17:28,620 --> 00:17:34,079 dispatch. Just be completely canceled. So. Right. Right. That's a good point. Okay. Awesome stuff 184 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:38,958 there. I'm glad we got something there that we can kind of touch. Both, uh, both sides on. Uh, but I want 185 00:17:38,959 --> 00:17:44,519 to go over to Lu now and talk about Lu. What's a day look like for you? What time does the day 186 00:17:44,519 --> 00:17:49,639 start for you? I mean, you mentioned already that a that a 2 a.m. phone call is nothing out of the 187 00:17:49,639 --> 00:17:55,639 ordinary here at Bulk. So, uh, when do you turn the lights on? They're at Foster. I usually get 188 00:17:55,680 --> 00:18:02,439 actually in the office between 7 and 715. But when does the day start? It 189 00:18:02,439 --> 00:18:09,040 depends. Actually, they don't stop. I mean, the drivers do know, though, 190 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:15,919 that mine and Sara's sleep schedule are totally different. Um, if you need 191 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:21,999 something at 6:00 at night, you probably better call Sara, because I'm probably napping. Uh huh. If 192 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:27,759 you need something after ten, especially after midnight, don't call Sara. You call me. 193 00:18:28,569 --> 00:18:34,890 Okay. And these are. These are firm, hard rules. Yeah. Like midnight on. I'm. 194 00:18:35,249 --> 00:18:40,729 I'm awake. And the guys know that they're funny because they know our schedule. Yeah, the Foster 195 00:18:40,730 --> 00:18:46,810 terminal drivers. I mean, they can nail us to a tee of who's going to be awake, who's going to respond 196 00:18:46,810 --> 00:18:52,410 and who's asleep. And and what type of chewing out do they get if they make the mistake and call the 197 00:18:52,410 --> 00:18:58,209 wrong number. And they don't get that because they're not going to respond. He's not going to 198 00:18:58,209 --> 00:19:04,689 hear the song. Oh my God, I don't know. Squat. You know what? They're not going to get any kind of 199 00:19:04,730 --> 00:19:10,289 fuss tonight because bottom line is they're not going to call either one of us just because of 200 00:19:10,290 --> 00:19:17,250 our charming personalities. There's a problem or. I mean, yeah, they're not 201 00:19:17,250 --> 00:19:24,169 calling to just talk. Oh, there's a problem. Okay, I understand that now. I'm to be honest with you, 202 00:19:24,209 --> 00:19:28,299 though, I'm having a great conversation with the two of you. I would call you just to talk, but 203 00:19:28,300 --> 00:19:34,259 maybe that's because you don't deal with me all the time, right? Absolutely. You don't see it all 204 00:19:34,260 --> 00:19:41,139 the time. The the favorite thing is. Sorry to call you, but. Yeah. Yeah, I like the one that says, 205 00:19:41,139 --> 00:19:47,979 hey, we got a problem. Uh, no, I would snuggle down in bed. I didn't promise you bother me. 206 00:19:49,500 --> 00:19:55,299 Now, Lu. You told me that you and Sarah have a little bit of a nickname here. Now, I. I will say 207 00:19:55,300 --> 00:20:00,379 this. I'll preface this by saying this might get, uh, it might get edited a little bit. It might get, 208 00:20:00,380 --> 00:20:05,779 um, censored. But I want you to go ahead and say it because we can beep it out if we need to. But what 209 00:20:05,780 --> 00:20:11,699 do you guys call yourselves? Uh, what did you tell me before we went on the air here? Two bitches in 210 00:20:11,699 --> 00:20:18,659 a dispatch. You. And it doesn't sound like that's an offensive name for you. You 211 00:20:18,699 --> 00:20:25,550 kind of own that a little bit. It sounds like. Oh, we're very proud. Trust me, These 212 00:20:25,550 --> 00:20:32,430 guys would run over top of us if we did not stand our ground. Yeah, that's true man. Drivers 213 00:20:32,430 --> 00:20:37,390 can be a stubborn bunch. And it's not to say that that's a bad trait to have as a driver. I think a 214 00:20:37,390 --> 00:20:42,829 little bit of stubbornness as a driver, uh, probably keeps your day from going off the rails 215 00:20:42,829 --> 00:20:49,708 quite frequently. Bryan. Mike, would you agree with that? Absolutely. Oh, yeah. Yeah. 216 00:20:50,469 --> 00:20:54,669 Do you ever find yourself being, uh, a little bit stubborn and think maybe I should take it easy on 217 00:20:54,670 --> 00:21:00,989 dispatch today? Or is it just. No, I gotta stay. I gotta stay stubborn. Yep. It's a constant. I have to 218 00:21:00,989 --> 00:21:06,909 stay stubborn. Okay. All right. I want my loads covered. You know, Bryan and Andrea and all of us 219 00:21:06,949 --> 00:21:12,909 want to pay tax, and we've got to keep pushing. We can't slack up a little. Okay? And our drivers, I 220 00:21:12,910 --> 00:21:19,509 mean, at the end of the day, you can have dispatch from the floor to the ceiling. But if you don't 221 00:21:19,510 --> 00:21:25,769 have a driver that gets that product in that silo, There's where the money comes in. Once that 222 00:21:25,770 --> 00:21:31,968 product hits that silo, then Bulk Transit's paid and we're all paid. So that's a very important 223 00:21:32,009 --> 00:21:37,849 thing to have drivers that are reliable and know how to do the job consistently every single time. 224 00:21:38,489 --> 00:21:44,329 Yeah, absolutely. And I'm wondering, do you want to shout out any of your Foster drivers right now? 225 00:21:44,329 --> 00:21:48,889 Because I know that dispatch and terminal management will have some drivers that are just 226 00:21:48,890 --> 00:21:53,689 always there for them. They've got a great relationship, and since we don't have any Foster 227 00:21:53,689 --> 00:21:58,449 drivers on this episode, I want to give you the chance to call any of them out that maybe have a, 228 00:21:58,490 --> 00:22:03,689 you know, made the day a little bit easier on you recently or anything like that. Uh, Sara and Lu. 229 00:22:04,250 --> 00:22:10,970 I'm going to be honest. We have a great, great, great, great drivers. We've got drivers here that's 230 00:22:10,970 --> 00:22:17,889 been here for 30 plus years, and we've got drivers that's been here for six months, 231 00:22:18,250 --> 00:22:24,779 and there's not one of them But we would hesitate to pick up the 232 00:22:24,779 --> 00:22:31,179 phone and call and ask them because they're going to if they're able and they got ours, they're 233 00:22:31,180 --> 00:22:36,539 going to help us. That's awesome. You know, it's something that I've heard from basically every 234 00:22:36,540 --> 00:22:42,219 terminal manager that I've talked to, every, uh, person that's, uh, you know, working with the 235 00:22:42,219 --> 00:22:46,859 drivers, but in a terminal that seems to be consistent through every single one that I've 236 00:22:46,859 --> 00:22:51,579 gotten to talk to. And I'm I'm not through all of them at this point, but I've hit quite a few, so I 237 00:22:51,580 --> 00:22:57,900 love to hear that. Um, Mike, Bryan, I'm going to. I'm not saying that, you know, I'm not saying that it's 238 00:22:57,900 --> 00:23:03,779 all honey pie every day because, oh, interesting to get into it. But at the end of the day, it's funny. 239 00:23:03,780 --> 00:23:10,579 We all miss this fight. And it's like, oh, hey, Lu. Oh, hey, how are you? Like it's. A 240 00:23:10,579 --> 00:23:17,579 thing. It is. You know, at the end of the day, we're all striving for the same goal and that's to make 241 00:23:19,180 --> 00:23:25,789 bulk transit profitable and not. So let me ask you this one, another roundtable question here. And then I've 242 00:23:25,790 --> 00:23:30,589 got a couple questions for the drivers. And then we'll get back to Lu and Sara with some 243 00:23:30,590 --> 00:23:35,670 dispatch dispatch questions and kind of marry the whole thing together. But one last roundtable 244 00:23:35,670 --> 00:23:41,389 question for all of you guys before we move on here. And, Mike, I'll start with you. Uh, on a scale 245 00:23:41,390 --> 00:23:47,869 of smooth sailing to dumpster fire, how often is your day predictable. You know, you're getting up 246 00:23:47,870 --> 00:23:51,869 and you're starting, you know, what's going to happen is that, uh, is that frequent? Is that 247 00:23:51,869 --> 00:23:57,149 something that you're used to? Unpredictable. I was saying that's right. Most of. The time. Most times. 248 00:23:57,749 --> 00:24:02,469 Yes, sir. Yeah, I would say so. I kind of figured the answer from at least one of the drivers was going 249 00:24:02,469 --> 00:24:07,389 to be, uh, dumpster fire every day. I never know it's going to happen. Just. It's the nature of the 250 00:24:07,390 --> 00:24:14,310 gig. But, uh, Bryan, I'll go to you. Same thing. How often is your day out there? Predictable. Um, I'd 251 00:24:14,310 --> 00:24:17,429 say it's about mid range. I mean, when you're out there dealing with the general public on the 252 00:24:17,430 --> 00:24:23,769 roads, you never really can pinpoint how the day is going to go. But for the most part, I mean, when 253 00:24:23,770 --> 00:24:28,769 you when you get your dispatch the day before, you kind of have a pretty solid idea of what your 254 00:24:28,769 --> 00:24:34,129 next day is going to look like. Um, it's not often that you get the call changing where you're 255 00:24:34,130 --> 00:24:40,929 delivering to, um, so most of the time it's, hey, this is what we've got for you tomorrow. You pick. 256 00:24:40,969 --> 00:24:46,169 And that's basically how it goes the next day. Barring any issues with traffic or weather or 257 00:24:46,170 --> 00:24:51,489 anything like that. Sure. No, it's a well-oiled machine. There's no question about it there. But, uh, 258 00:24:51,489 --> 00:24:56,488 sometimes it's just it's things that you can't you can't account for, things that you can't be 259 00:24:56,489 --> 00:25:01,409 responsible for. Sometimes they're going to show up and rear their ugly head. And and, Lu, I'm 260 00:25:01,409 --> 00:25:06,290 coming to you with this question next. Uh, how how often do you guys have what you would call a 261 00:25:06,290 --> 00:25:12,609 predictable day out there at the Foster terminal? They are few and far between. 262 00:25:12,890 --> 00:25:19,659 Amen. Because, I mean, I'm going to speak for Sara. She just stepped out to take a call from a driver. 263 00:25:20,060 --> 00:25:26,939 Um, you know, dispatch, you got load canceling, you got loads adding, and they're within 264 00:25:26,939 --> 00:25:31,579 minutes. You know, you might have three loads. Cancel. The next thing you know, the phone rings 265 00:25:31,580 --> 00:25:38,420 and, oh, we got emergency loads here, here and here. So. And then, you know, you're sitting here and the 266 00:25:38,420 --> 00:25:44,819 day is going smooth, and then you get a call from a driver that says, I've just been hit head 267 00:25:44,859 --> 00:25:51,739 on. Oh, and, you know, I mean, those things happen. And some days it's 268 00:25:51,740 --> 00:25:57,739 an emotional roller coaster. I'll be. Honest. I imagine so. I imagine so do you ever. I think about, 269 00:25:57,740 --> 00:26:02,740 uh, you know, I'm a big, uh, Ninja Turtles fan from back in the day, the original movies. And there's a 270 00:26:02,740 --> 00:26:08,539 part in Ninja Turtles two where one of the guys looks at the other one and he says it's quiet, a 271 00:26:08,540 --> 00:26:15,109 little too quiet. Do you ever have those? It's a little too quiet. Do not say that word. Or even our 272 00:26:15,109 --> 00:26:20,989 terminal manager. And he's great. We, uh. He'll say something about Boy it. Or when he first started, 273 00:26:21,029 --> 00:26:26,389 he'd be like, boy, it's quiet too. And we're like, you do not say those words. Yep. You keep that word 274 00:26:26,390 --> 00:26:33,149 to yourself. We will hurt you. I like it. I see, I kind of figured that that's like, if if things are 275 00:26:33,150 --> 00:26:38,469 quiet, you have to leave that to the imagination. You don't say anything, you don't identify it 276 00:26:38,469 --> 00:26:45,029 because that's what immediately makes it go not quiet. Right? Exactly, exactly. You know, 277 00:26:45,229 --> 00:26:51,469 it's a flip of a coin. We can sit here for hours and nothing, and then all of a sudden it's just 278 00:26:51,469 --> 00:26:58,429 one phone call after another for hours. So, Lu, when you start your day, uh, coffee 279 00:26:58,430 --> 00:27:04,149 first or chaos first? Because your job, your job has a lot going on. So coffee or chaos? When you 280 00:27:04,150 --> 00:27:10,909 first turn the lights on. It's usually chaos. And it's Diet Coke. I don't do coffee. Okay. 281 00:27:10,910 --> 00:27:17,249 That's fine. So it's usually, you know, it's a day like this morning. Um, 282 00:27:18,329 --> 00:27:24,369 I had a call. A driver got to someplace else that we normally don't load out of. His truck wasn't in 283 00:27:24,370 --> 00:27:31,289 the system, which was our fault. But that's how that started out. And then 284 00:27:31,329 --> 00:27:38,170 yesterday morning, a guy was trying to unload, and there was a hole in the silo pipe. So that was the 285 00:27:38,170 --> 00:27:44,969 4:00 call. Wow. Then yesterday you had to call with what? There was three hours load time, three 286 00:27:44,969 --> 00:27:50,929 loads, three hours waiting to get loaded, and then that's just continue throughout the day. Then we 287 00:27:50,930 --> 00:27:57,769 got a phone call from another terminal manager with a gentleman having a little issue, 288 00:27:57,770 --> 00:28:04,049 and we had to go rescue him. And like I said, it's just one thing after another. You just never know 289 00:28:04,050 --> 00:28:08,929 how the ball is going to roll. And honestly, that's probably what kept me staying all these years 290 00:28:08,930 --> 00:28:13,739 because it is not something that you come in and you do the same repetitive job day after day 291 00:28:13,740 --> 00:28:18,979 after day, right? Right. It's kind of, uh, you have to be comfortable being Chicken Little. The sky is 292 00:28:18,979 --> 00:28:24,299 falling sometimes, and you just have to be okay with that, right? Yep. And then you look back and 293 00:28:24,300 --> 00:28:29,098 you think, oh my gosh, how in the world did we ever get through that? And we do. You do every single. 294 00:28:29,099 --> 00:28:34,699 Day on to the next chaos that comes about. And I think that's testament to the people that you 295 00:28:34,699 --> 00:28:38,019 talked about earlier when you when I asked you how long you've been here, you said it's the 296 00:28:38,020 --> 00:28:43,300 people that keep me here and that's why you can get through. Sky's falling moments is when you 297 00:28:43,300 --> 00:28:49,179 have a really good group of people. Right. Right. You know, like our terminal manager. He's great. We 298 00:28:49,180 --> 00:28:55,819 can go. He leaves us alone, basically. But when we need him, he has our 299 00:28:55,819 --> 00:29:02,819 back. Yeah. He is our calming to our fire. Yeah. He's very calm and very where I'm very 300 00:29:02,860 --> 00:29:09,539 emotional and like, oh, boy, here we go. So. And you know, he never raises his voice. He's very quiet. 301 00:29:09,629 --> 00:29:16,470 It's all one demeanor and. Yeah. And then we know, you know, it's our terminal manager's not here. 302 00:29:16,470 --> 00:29:22,429 Then we got back up in Plain City. Like I said, you can get Ahold of any of the owners. Andrea. Brian. 303 00:29:22,429 --> 00:29:29,270 Brad. They're just there for. Any time. They are there. That's awesome. I 304 00:29:29,270 --> 00:29:34,549 love hearing it. I love hearing it. Okay, I want to kick this back to the drivers a little bit. Um, 305 00:29:34,709 --> 00:29:40,389 kind of talking about the reality of the job itself. I know, you know, I've, I've been making 306 00:29:40,390 --> 00:29:46,069 podcasts for truck drivers for going on four years now. And, uh, there's some things that are 307 00:29:46,070 --> 00:29:51,789 very constant, Mike and Bryan with every driver and they're things that are out of the driver's 308 00:29:51,790 --> 00:29:58,309 control. And I wonder which one of these four things, uh, cost you the most time out there. And 309 00:29:58,310 --> 00:30:02,910 these are all things that are out of your control for the most part. Uh, Mike, I'll start with you 310 00:30:02,950 --> 00:30:09,529 here. Which one of these things can cost you the most time? Weather load delays, equipment 311 00:30:09,530 --> 00:30:16,330 issues, or customer sites. Or traffic or customers. I'd say traffic. I mean what the 312 00:30:16,330 --> 00:30:22,169 construction. Go on and say this truck. I don't think it's one of the one of the answer, but. Go 313 00:30:22,170 --> 00:30:27,209 ahead and throw. It in there. That's the one in construction. And uh, like I say, most of our 314 00:30:27,210 --> 00:30:32,169 customers were pretty regular customer. Do we I don't know, no room for their product or something 315 00:30:32,170 --> 00:30:37,329 like that. But it's mostly going to be construction issues, traffic, that type of thing. 316 00:30:37,330 --> 00:30:42,369 That's where you're losing the most time on a daily basis. It sounds like. Mike. So Bryan, same 317 00:30:42,369 --> 00:30:47,929 question to you, my friend. Um, would you say that same thing as Mike said, like traffic and 318 00:30:47,930 --> 00:30:54,049 construction, weather delays, customer sites? What do you see yourself losing the most time, uh, 319 00:30:54,050 --> 00:31:00,009 dealing with that's out of your control on a typical day? Um, I'd say for us, it's probably 320 00:31:00,009 --> 00:31:03,769 customer sites. You know, we do a lot of these road jobs, especially this time of year and throughout 321 00:31:03,770 --> 00:31:09,219 the summer. And, uh, when you're dealing with road jobs, equipment is going to break. Things are going 322 00:31:09,220 --> 00:31:16,139 to get delayed for different reasons. Most of the time for us it's I mean, traffic can get 323 00:31:16,140 --> 00:31:22,059 involved with it, but typically it's it's customer sites. Like today we uh, we all got pushed back 324 00:31:22,059 --> 00:31:27,738 probably about an hour to an hour and a half before we could unload from our original, um, 325 00:31:27,739 --> 00:31:32,899 delivery time. But, I mean, it's just one of those things, like I said, comes with territory. You just 326 00:31:32,900 --> 00:31:39,260 gotta stay on your toes. Adapt, overcome and conquer and keep it moving. Sure, sure. 327 00:31:39,660 --> 00:31:45,619 Uh, this is something else I got for you guys here, and I. I don't want you to pull any punches. I know 328 00:31:45,619 --> 00:31:50,179 you've got Lu and Sara listening on the other end, and maybe this is a learning experience for 329 00:31:50,180 --> 00:31:57,099 everybody here, but. Uh, what is a loaded question, right? What's there now? It could 330 00:31:57,100 --> 00:32:02,779 be, but I think I think it's a question that that, uh, offers us all the opportunity to grow within 331 00:32:02,779 --> 00:32:08,149 the positions that we do. And so from the driver's standpoint, Mike, I'll come to you first. What's 332 00:32:08,150 --> 00:32:12,629 something you wish that the office staff understood better about what you go through 333 00:32:12,630 --> 00:32:19,390 during the day? Not really, really sure how to answer it. Uh, probably just the, the the delays on 334 00:32:19,390 --> 00:32:24,068 time and and sometimes, like I say, uh, the customer, you know, like they'll have room or something like 335 00:32:24,069 --> 00:32:31,029 that. I that makes sense. Yeah, sure. Communicate with them. But, uh, I office actually does a 336 00:32:31,030 --> 00:32:35,150 really good job. I'm not downplaying. I don't want to downplay them because they do a great job of 337 00:32:35,150 --> 00:32:40,790 what they're what they're doing, you know? So. Oh, 100%. And and that's that's definitely not why I 338 00:32:40,790 --> 00:32:45,029 asked the question. I don't want anybody to think here that I, I think the office has got some 339 00:32:45,029 --> 00:32:50,389 shortcomings. I already understand what we call Lu and Sara. And so I don't want to get on their 340 00:32:50,390 --> 00:32:55,990 bad side. I'm not trying to say anything like that. But. Uh, but I do know that, you know, there's so 341 00:32:55,990 --> 00:33:01,029 much difference between the two jobs that you guys do, right? There's the driving and the office 342 00:33:01,029 --> 00:33:06,559 side are are night and day from one another. So, Bryan, I'll kick that same question over to you. Is 343 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:11,478 there anything you wish that that, uh, the office staff in general understood a little bit better 344 00:33:11,479 --> 00:33:16,679 about what you're going through each day? Yeah. It's always their fault. No, no. I'm joking. Um. 345 00:33:17,599 --> 00:33:24,559 That's what I'm talking about. Oh, man, I don't know. I don't know how you did that, 346 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:29,559 but when you said that, my phone actually physically wiggled as Sara and Lu responded on 347 00:33:29,560 --> 00:33:36,399 the other end. So. But go on, keep us all on our phones. That's all. Yeah. 348 00:33:36,399 --> 00:33:43,159 Um. No, I mean, really, really. I think the only thing that can become hard for the office in any 349 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:48,559 situation is just the time delay. You know, just just like for us, it's hard to to settle and 350 00:33:48,559 --> 00:33:52,799 predict exactly how the day is going to go. So sometimes that's going to push everything else 351 00:33:52,799 --> 00:33:59,559 behind. Um, I wouldn't say that they don't necessarily get it. Um, but I'd say that 352 00:33:59,559 --> 00:34:03,459 probably falls on communication. You know, we got to communicate when we're running into those 353 00:34:03,459 --> 00:34:09,418 things, so it's easier for them to do whatever they can to help finagle the schedules around or 354 00:34:09,419 --> 00:34:13,059 make the next customer understand what we may be dealing with, that we're running like two 355 00:34:13,059 --> 00:34:19,979 different loads that day. I think offices do a great job. Okay. Where our where we load out of 356 00:34:19,979 --> 00:34:26,698 and our customer is when they hold these guys up two and three hours. And our drivers, you all are 357 00:34:26,699 --> 00:34:33,539 fighting a clock. Right? Yep. And it makes it almost impossible to 358 00:34:33,539 --> 00:34:39,779 pull the two runs that our drivers are pulling. And then you get to a customer and then you're 359 00:34:39,780 --> 00:34:46,139 held up there. And we do get it in our office down here. I mean, and it frustrates 360 00:34:46,139 --> 00:34:52,539 us just as much as it does the drivers. And we start calling customers and start trying to 361 00:34:52,540 --> 00:34:59,099 figure out what are we doing, why are we sitting there three hours trying to get loaded. Mhm. Right. 362 00:34:59,139 --> 00:35:05,069 Yep. Yep. In our office. Fight for us. Fights for us up here too. Just like I said, us as drivers. We got 363 00:35:05,069 --> 00:35:09,069 to make sure that as soon as we notice that that's starting. We need to we need to call and 364 00:35:09,070 --> 00:35:14,310 make that communication clear. So that way they can start fighting for us the same way. Absolutely. 365 00:35:14,310 --> 00:35:19,389 And we can start getting this attention time, you know, then we start notifying this customer. It 366 00:35:19,389 --> 00:35:25,269 seems like it does start to help us. Hey, we're fixing to start billing detention time here for, 367 00:35:25,310 --> 00:35:30,069 you know, these guys sitting here, and then they seem to start picking up the pace a little bit? 368 00:35:30,110 --> 00:35:36,789 Sure. Absolutely, absolutely. Communication is the main thing. Absolutely. I, I totally agree. It's it's 369 00:35:36,790 --> 00:35:42,148 something that is so important and, and with the, uh, the relationship that dispatch and drivers 370 00:35:42,149 --> 00:35:48,069 have, I've always kind of looked at it as sort of like a sibling relationship. It's like a you guys, 371 00:35:48,110 --> 00:35:53,789 you have to be so in tune with one another that it can almost be uncomfortable at times because 372 00:35:53,790 --> 00:35:58,879 you know so much and you know the how the other person is working. Sometimes you might have even a 373 00:35:58,879 --> 00:36:03,638 little bit of reticence. It's like, man, I don't want to call Sara with this right now, but I have 374 00:36:03,639 --> 00:36:10,239 to, right? So it is all about the communication. If we keep that communication level at a at a high 375 00:36:10,279 --> 00:36:15,519 pace, then these problems start to help solve themselves through that communication. Right? 376 00:36:15,639 --> 00:36:22,599 Exactly. Can I just absolutely. You're you're more that you're you're the one at the, 377 00:36:22,639 --> 00:36:29,439 at the customer. So you get go to the chain. So the chain of command to your boss. And then they can 378 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:34,719 get with the meal like iron meal and get to them to get somebody involved in calling the customer 379 00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:41,519 to get the ball rolling. But they already started on it the better. Sure, absolutely. And even 380 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:46,959 not so much the customer. It's up to even the drivers keeping in touch with their and saying, 381 00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:53,878 hey, two weeks from now on Friday, I need all that helps the communication there help 382 00:36:53,919 --> 00:37:00,899 balance things out as we know we're getting close to the 27th. That we got three guys off. 383 00:37:01,259 --> 00:37:08,259 So we walked on picking up more loads than we know we can handle for that day. Sure. 384 00:37:08,299 --> 00:37:14,299 So versus a guy you know, which we know, emergencies happen and you don't always get to 385 00:37:14,300 --> 00:37:21,059 plan for them. But the communication between the driver and the office helps so 386 00:37:21,060 --> 00:37:27,819 much. Yeah, I can tell. I can really. Tell. It's it's interesting. Um, I, I 387 00:37:27,860 --> 00:37:34,579 kind of wonder, you know, with the problems that you'll juggle Sara and Lu on a normal 388 00:37:34,580 --> 00:37:40,340 day, uh, just the things that you have to do that are just everyday tasks and everything like that. 389 00:37:40,379 --> 00:37:45,659 Um, is it is it almost like a relief when a driver calls with something like that to break you out 390 00:37:45,660 --> 00:37:50,860 of the monotony of doing the normal things? Are you excited when drivers call? Are you are you 391 00:37:50,899 --> 00:37:56,109 nervous when drivers call? Uh, what? What kind of things are going through your heads when? When you 392 00:37:56,110 --> 00:38:02,029 see a phone ring, let's say it two in the morning. Okay, well, let me just tell you that this is 393 00:38:02,030 --> 00:38:08,349 probably going to be tempered. Since. Censored. What in the hell can you possibly want now? 394 00:38:10,910 --> 00:38:17,829 To blow up. What now? Just saying. Are you safe? Are you okay? And then 395 00:38:17,829 --> 00:38:22,669 we go from there. Yep. Yep. And that's always the first question that gets asked, isn't it? Mike and 396 00:38:22,669 --> 00:38:27,468 Bryan, are you safe? Are you okay? Right. Yeah, absolutely. That's our main concern. We want our 397 00:38:27,469 --> 00:38:33,590 drivers safe and that they're okay. And then we'll deal with whatever comes next. In our case. What's 398 00:38:33,590 --> 00:38:39,349 so important you got to call it seven? It makes it 715 to call me. You can call it early that morning. 399 00:38:39,389 --> 00:38:45,190 You know, so probably couldn't wait for 715 to call me. Right. Right. And as long as you called the 400 00:38:45,190 --> 00:38:51,830 right person, you'll stay out of hot water. Right? That's right. So let's talk a little bit here 401 00:38:51,830 --> 00:38:57,279 about kind of where our, our worlds collide. Because I, I did also I asked the drivers, I said, 402 00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:02,279 what do you wish that, uh that the dispatch and, and the terminal side understood a little bit 403 00:39:02,279 --> 00:39:06,919 more. And I got to be honest, they took it pretty easy on you, Sara and Lu. So now you get that 404 00:39:06,919 --> 00:39:13,319 question. Um, what is your biggest frustration with drivers or what could they understand about your 405 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:20,279 job that would kind of help the whole thing just run more smoothly? How quick loads 406 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:26,719 come in and out? Yes. How quick things change. How much of a little buck turtle in the road can just 407 00:39:26,720 --> 00:39:33,320 blow up the whole situation? I mean, you know, understand emergencies happen. 408 00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:40,240 If that emergency is going to happen, I should be your first point of contact to say, hey, 409 00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:45,879 this is just what happened. This is what I can do. This is what I can't do. Instead of waiting until, 410 00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:52,019 you know, close to that second load time appointment and call me and say, oh, by the way, I 411 00:39:52,019 --> 00:39:57,899 had this happen this morning and now I can't cover the cloak. Let us get ahead of the ball game. 412 00:39:57,939 --> 00:40:03,779 Let us get to the customer before the customer comes to us and says, hey, where's this driver? 413 00:40:03,820 --> 00:40:09,139 Where's. Why are we not getting this load today? And then we got to call the driver and find out, 414 00:40:09,419 --> 00:40:14,860 you know, just like the guy the driver said communication. You mean. And you got. That first 415 00:40:14,860 --> 00:40:21,579 hiccup. Let your office know so they can get ahead of the ball game and run a bucker for 416 00:40:21,579 --> 00:40:28,219 you. Got it. Yep. Mike, Bryan, hearing that. Hearing that from the ladies. Yeah. Anything to add? No, I 417 00:40:28,220 --> 00:40:32,498 mean any any of the greatest teams. The biggest thing that they are going to have is clear, 418 00:40:32,499 --> 00:40:39,019 concise, great communication. So I mean, yes, sir. Just to double back on what they're saying is the 419 00:40:39,019 --> 00:40:42,579 faster you can get ahead of it, the more preventive you can be. They may be able to pull 420 00:40:42,580 --> 00:40:46,779 the driver that got off earlier to go run that second load for them. Like they said, they've got 421 00:40:46,780 --> 00:40:50,428 other drivers that if they've got the time they can call them, they know they're going to cover 422 00:40:50,429 --> 00:40:56,189 for them, but if they don't know, they can't do so. Being able to make that communication happen as 423 00:40:56,189 --> 00:41:00,869 soon as you realize, hey, I'm typically here for 15 minutes, but it looks like I'm going to be here 424 00:41:00,870 --> 00:41:07,109 for an hour. I may be running close to my time, depending on what the the distance is from from 425 00:41:07,229 --> 00:41:12,749 your loading spot. So wherever your Chinese location is, you know that that helps the office 426 00:41:12,790 --> 00:41:16,829 get ahead of it and be more preventive to make sure that that customer still gets the load to 427 00:41:16,830 --> 00:41:21,349 find out how, like how dire it is that they get that load, they may be able to put it off till the 428 00:41:21,350 --> 00:41:27,590 next day. Um, but if they have somebody that can just pick up and run it for you and, and save that 429 00:41:27,590 --> 00:41:30,909 dispatch, then I'm sure that that's what their priority is going to be in what they're going to 430 00:41:30,909 --> 00:41:35,749 do. But if they don't know, then obviously they you can't fix what you don't know is broken. 431 00:41:35,790 --> 00:41:42,309 Absolutely. Absolutely, absolutely. All right. It's never good when the customer starts calling you. 432 00:41:42,350 --> 00:41:49,039 It just helps when we can call the customer and prepare them. That's right. Sure. I agree. 433 00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:55,319 So how important Lu is? The, uh. Or excuse me, are the customer relationships that you've formed out 434 00:41:55,320 --> 00:42:00,878 there? Because working there for for 13, 14 years now, I'm willing I'm willing to say that you 435 00:42:00,879 --> 00:42:05,639 probably have some really good, uh, working relationships with some of your customers where 436 00:42:05,639 --> 00:42:10,359 if you do get the ability to get out in front of this, you can smooth it over before the driver 437 00:42:10,399 --> 00:42:17,039 even has to deal with anything. Would that be accurate? Absolutely. I do all the we run 438 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:23,438 product down at the rail yard, Cincinnati rail yard and that um, even though Sara really wants 439 00:42:23,439 --> 00:42:30,199 that job, I'm just going to hold on to it. I mean, that job, I think 440 00:42:30,279 --> 00:42:36,840 so, you know. I have worked with the lady that handled the rail 441 00:42:36,840 --> 00:42:43,398 yard for 14 years, and me and her have a great relationship, and she 442 00:42:43,919 --> 00:42:50,659 helps me and I help her. And if we see something not going 443 00:42:50,699 --> 00:42:56,499 right, even though she has other carriers in there, she calls me and we work together to where we can 444 00:42:56,499 --> 00:43:02,339 balance it out. And yes, we have a great relationship. That's great, that's great. And it 445 00:43:02,339 --> 00:43:07,019 just makes everything work so much better. You know, we could all come to work pissed off every 446 00:43:07,060 --> 00:43:12,699 day, but that doesn't make the day any shorter. And I think if we just have a little bit of patience 447 00:43:12,700 --> 00:43:18,100 with everybody and, you know, understand that communication is as important as you guys have 448 00:43:18,100 --> 00:43:22,939 just said it is. Uh, we can we can make this whole operation run without a hitch. Man, you guys are 449 00:43:22,940 --> 00:43:28,139 all really good at your jobs. You've all been doing it for a long time, so, uh, I hesitate to 450 00:43:28,180 --> 00:43:34,019 think anything can surprise you, but I use that as a segue to my next part of our interview here, 451 00:43:34,020 --> 00:43:40,379 which is by far my favorite part. This is when we get to the stories. Now, Bryan and Mike, I know you 452 00:43:40,379 --> 00:43:46,789 guys have got wild stories, and I'm coming to you for them here in a second. But Lu and Sara 453 00:43:47,350 --> 00:43:53,149 being where you're at. Dispatch, I know that you've got some stories that you start out at a dinner 454 00:43:53,149 --> 00:43:56,869 table when you're going to tell them and you say to your family members or friends, you are not 455 00:43:56,870 --> 00:44:02,109 going to believe this. I want one of those stories right now. Can you give me a you're not going to 456 00:44:02,149 --> 00:44:07,909 believe this story that happened to you in your tenure here at Bulk. And, Lu, I'll start with you. 457 00:44:07,909 --> 00:44:14,589 But, Sara, if you've got one to lay it on me. Well, the most vivid 458 00:44:14,590 --> 00:44:20,789 one is when our guys drive their personal cars. And Sara wasn't even here, man. 459 00:44:21,429 --> 00:44:28,229 They parked their cars in the lot. And then that's where they say, well, we had a driver come in 460 00:44:28,230 --> 00:44:34,708 one night and our old terminal manager, he was not the nicest person in the world. But you know what 461 00:44:34,709 --> 00:44:40,988 I've come to know after 14 years? No wonder he was mean. No wonder. 462 00:44:42,360 --> 00:44:48,119 And this driver came in with a trailer and went back in and thought he hit something, but just 463 00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:53,519 gave it more gas and pushed this guy's personal car all the way over a bank. Oh. 464 00:44:55,000 --> 00:45:01,959 Wow. That's not good. Oh, no. I don't know how you're supposed to follow that. With our story. 465 00:45:01,999 --> 00:45:08,800 That's what I'm. Thinking. Oh, we had a turkey that came through the front glass and ended up in the 466 00:45:08,800 --> 00:45:15,600 passenger seat. And then the driver gets out and he's sitting in the passenger window, just kind of 467 00:45:15,679 --> 00:45:22,080 looking around like, what in the hell happened to me? Oh, that's. Wild. 468 00:45:22,199 --> 00:45:27,918 Turkeys are no joke. You know, there, of course, lots of feathers a little bit less dense than what 469 00:45:27,919 --> 00:45:33,840 they look. But that is not the first story I've heard of a turkey going through a windshield. I've 470 00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:40,759 also heard a guy hit a tweet bird and the the beak actually pierced his radiator. 471 00:45:40,759 --> 00:45:46,169 And he was. He was shut down after hitting just a little tiny bird. So we got to be careful with it, 472 00:45:46,209 --> 00:45:53,128 with the avian variety out there because, uh, crazy stuff can happen. Wow. That's it's. 473 00:45:53,129 --> 00:45:57,888 Crazy. Like, we had a driver that. I don't know what happened. He got out of his truck. He was coming in 474 00:45:57,889 --> 00:46:04,809 the office. The truck started rolling. He tried to catch the truck. Um, thank goodness. He 475 00:46:04,810 --> 00:46:11,609 tripped over his feet and fell before the truck got him and had busted up his face. Really bad. 476 00:46:11,610 --> 00:46:18,089 Calls me on Saturday. Me and my granddaughter comes down here. Oh, there was blood 477 00:46:18,090 --> 00:46:22,529 everywhere. I mean, you just don't know what you're going to get. Sure. That one sounds like it could 478 00:46:22,570 --> 00:46:29,009 have ended up a lot worse than what it did. It could have ended. Up so bad. So bad. And it I mean, 479 00:46:29,010 --> 00:46:35,889 it really wasn't as bad as what it looked like, but. But still scary. Yeah. 480 00:46:35,930 --> 00:46:41,669 Terribly wrong. Still really scary. Okay. All right. Well, that's. You see why I went to her? I went to 481 00:46:41,709 --> 00:46:47,989 Lu first for a very good reason. All right. I got a follow. Up. I knew she had him. Now, is Sara with 482 00:46:47,990 --> 00:46:53,510 us right now or is she on the phone? I don't know, I'm here. Yeah. Sara, do you have any stories you'd 483 00:46:53,510 --> 00:47:00,349 like to tell from your six years here at Bulk? Most funniest one I think I can think of. 484 00:47:00,350 --> 00:47:05,870 Right off the top of my head is myself and a mechanic chased a kitten through the parking lot 485 00:47:05,909 --> 00:47:12,149 through trailers for over an hour to finally retrieve this kitten, only to tear us from 486 00:47:12,149 --> 00:47:18,349 shreds up and down both ways. Didn't want to be caught. I could have told you after that first 487 00:47:18,350 --> 00:47:25,109 half hour. She looked like. She had scaled the. Prison. Wall, the barbed wire. So now when 488 00:47:25,110 --> 00:47:30,349 kittens get dropped in the parking lot, they get fed in the corner and hope they survive. Okay. All 489 00:47:30,389 --> 00:47:35,509 right, well, uh, you know what? I've. I've been to a lot of terminals that have yard cats. Uh, and they 490 00:47:35,510 --> 00:47:41,918 don't run on anybody's schedule but their own, and I. Exactly. Kind of sounds like that cat was good 491 00:47:41,959 --> 00:47:47,119 being feral until you guys got your hands on it. And then it needed to let you know. Hey, this isn't 492 00:47:47,120 --> 00:47:53,438 the lifestyle I'm looking for. That is very true. We're in a really rural 493 00:47:53,439 --> 00:47:59,878 area, so we get lots of dogs dropped off cats, especially cats. 494 00:48:00,519 --> 00:48:07,359 And so, I mean, we don't want them to get hit because we are on a main highway too. So 495 00:48:07,360 --> 00:48:12,559 we tried to get the animal shelters and stuff involved or, you know, like the kittens. We try to 496 00:48:12,600 --> 00:48:18,999 find somebody that wants the kittens. But as far as cats, after Sara's little escapade, we pretty 497 00:48:18,999 --> 00:48:24,439 much just feed them. Yeah, we feed them and let them go on their little merry ways. Yeah. And if 498 00:48:24,440 --> 00:48:28,879 not, we're going to wrap ourselves in bubble wrap first before we go out there trying to rescue it. 499 00:48:28,879 --> 00:48:35,600 Right? Yeah. I'm not. Sure how we're going to explain these injuries to Andrea. But. Well, 500 00:48:35,689 --> 00:48:42,688 She'll. This the baby bobcat? Yeah. Yeah. Well, Mike and 501 00:48:42,689 --> 00:48:48,449 Bryan, I know that those stories are hard to follow, but, uh, wild stories from, uh, from your time 502 00:48:48,449 --> 00:48:54,128 driving. I know they're out there. What's something that, uh, if, again, I like the idea of you're 503 00:48:54,129 --> 00:48:58,769 sitting around the, uh, the table with your family or your friends, and you're starting the the story 504 00:48:58,770 --> 00:49:05,689 by saying you're not going to believe this. Uh, Mike, do you have one of those for us? Uh, mine. 505 00:49:05,850 --> 00:49:11,610 Mine is a foul one also. I was going to, uh. Of course, Corpus Christi was close to the beach, but, 506 00:49:11,610 --> 00:49:16,569 uh, me and another driver with four cell phones, and then we just had CBS, and we were driving down 507 00:49:16,570 --> 00:49:23,369 through there, and, uh, egret, the tall, uh, egret. Uh, birds usually out in the pasture. But anyway, one 508 00:49:23,370 --> 00:49:28,649 of them had hit my windshield and they got caught. And somehow or another like that, that time we had, 509 00:49:28,649 --> 00:49:33,489 uh, brackets for the mirrors on there, like, they're the plastic one now that had brackets on there. 510 00:49:33,689 --> 00:49:39,629 And somehow or another, he got it. Got his neck inside that bracket. It was in front of my mirror. 511 00:49:39,709 --> 00:49:44,469 And I told my buddy, I said, hey, hey, slow down just a minute. I want you to look over here. He looked 512 00:49:44,469 --> 00:49:51,350 over here. I've been bird hunting over here, so. Oh, and. Those are. Those. Those 513 00:49:51,389 --> 00:49:56,069 egrets can get pretty big, right? Yeah. I covered the whole and covered the whole mirror. And I was 514 00:49:56,069 --> 00:50:00,669 hanging down there, just flopping in the air. Then we pull over at the rest area for the evening. 515 00:50:00,670 --> 00:50:07,149 There it was. The, there uh, fell out. It was gone the next, next morning, you know. But it was quite 516 00:50:07,149 --> 00:50:12,510 the time I'd been been bird hunting. You know, but. You never know what's going to happen out there 517 00:50:12,550 --> 00:50:18,550 on the open road. Huh, sir? Bryan, how about you, man? How about you? Any crazy stories like that? 518 00:50:19,830 --> 00:50:26,110 Uh, yeah. There was, uh, so I was it was the end of my day. I was headed back to the yard. And we're 519 00:50:26,110 --> 00:50:32,839 not in a very rural area, so I'm watching, and I'm on a two lane highway, four 520 00:50:32,839 --> 00:50:38,398 lane highway, and I'm watching this hawk come across the median. I'm like, of course this is how 521 00:50:38,399 --> 00:50:43,879 it's going to pick up a tight because it's flying a little low. I'm Hawks are usually pretty good. 522 00:50:43,919 --> 00:50:50,438 Yeah well he didn't. And he clipped like the upper passenger part of my, 523 00:50:50,639 --> 00:50:57,559 uh, windshield. The Hawk was fine, but when I looked over, he had dropped a big four foot corn 524 00:50:57,559 --> 00:51:04,399 snake, and it had wrapped around my mirror. What? Um. It would have been amazing. Nope. 525 00:51:04,399 --> 00:51:09,398 Gone. Oh. The snake. The snake was dead. Um. And before I could get down the off ramp, it had 526 00:51:09,399 --> 00:51:15,919 already fallen off of of my tractor. But I did have to take the water hose out, because the whole 527 00:51:15,919 --> 00:51:21,399 side of my tractor was covered in blood from the corn snake from house when the hawk got it. So 528 00:51:21,399 --> 00:51:27,039 that was, uh, that was pretty fun. I mean, I was only doing like 45 mile an hour because I was coming 529 00:51:27,040 --> 00:51:32,889 down the off ramp and, uh, the hawk clipped the windshield, dropped its food, and dinner was 530 00:51:32,889 --> 00:51:39,169 hanging off my mirror. So I did it. I think now I. Think I can 531 00:51:39,169 --> 00:51:45,769 comfortably. Yeah. You want to see a fat girl run? You just show me a snake. We're gone. 532 00:51:47,570 --> 00:51:53,609 That's it. I'm the same way. I hate them. They can walk, but they ain't got legs. It's not right. And, 533 00:51:53,610 --> 00:52:00,449 uh. I can. I can comfortably say, Bryan, that Hawk was trying to gain altitude. It just bit off 534 00:52:00,449 --> 00:52:07,369 more than it could chew. Uh, very literally. Yeah. Uh, that's great guys. Well, listen, this 535 00:52:07,370 --> 00:52:12,729 has been an awesome conversation. I love ending with the funny stories there, because I think it 536 00:52:12,729 --> 00:52:18,529 really does put a bow on this thing and say, you just never really can know what's going to happen 537 00:52:18,530 --> 00:52:24,850 in a day in the life at Bulk and Spur. And I greatly appreciate all your guys's time. Uh, for those of 538 00:52:24,850 --> 00:52:28,809 you that are making your first appearance on the show today, Mike already knows this. But I like to 539 00:52:28,909 --> 00:52:34,829 give everybody a chance to just wrap everything up with some final thoughts. And for those of you 540 00:52:34,830 --> 00:52:39,589 that haven't done this before, your Final Thoughts segment can be anything you want. If you want to 541 00:52:39,590 --> 00:52:43,949 shout out other employees, you want to say hi to family. If there's anything that we left on the 542 00:52:43,949 --> 00:52:49,629 table that you didn't get to say that you want to, now's the time to say it. Uh, Mike, since you are 543 00:52:49,629 --> 00:52:53,869 versed in this, I'm going to start our Final Thoughts segment with you, my friend. Thank you for 544 00:52:53,870 --> 00:52:59,509 the time today. Uh, final thoughts from you before we let you go. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you for 545 00:52:59,509 --> 00:53:06,189 inviting me back. And, uh, uh, I think it's neat. Neat round table with, uh, office, office 546 00:53:06,189 --> 00:53:12,989 personnel and and the drivers. I think that's a great idea. And had fun. Fun, uh, discussion. And 547 00:53:12,989 --> 00:53:18,148 everybody stay safe out there. Yeah, absolutely. You stay safe to watch out for those egrets. Okay. 548 00:53:18,790 --> 00:53:24,109 Absolutely. Yes, sir. Thanks, Mike. Bryan, on to you for your final thoughts, my friend. 549 00:53:25,350 --> 00:53:31,039 Um, yeah. So, I mean, huge appreciation to both themselves. Uh, I had been out of the truck for a 550 00:53:31,039 --> 00:53:36,799 couple of years doing the the job I was at before where I was. I was doing IT in prison. Um, I had 551 00:53:36,799 --> 00:53:42,520 never, never ran any, uh, pneumatic trailers or anything. They still gave me a chance. Put me 552 00:53:42,520 --> 00:53:49,319 through the training. Um, just in the short year of being here, I've been able to move 553 00:53:49,319 --> 00:53:55,440 my then fiance and our kids in together. Um, we've got married, so them giving me the opportunity has 554 00:53:55,440 --> 00:54:01,199 definitely, uh, allowed a lot of things that may not have happened had I not got the opportunity. 555 00:54:01,200 --> 00:54:07,878 So big appreciation to them. Um. Big thanks. Big thanks to the family for sticking around why, uh, 556 00:54:08,080 --> 00:54:12,919 I got used to the new job, you know, I was getting up at 8 a.m. and then had to start getting up at 557 00:54:12,960 --> 00:54:17,919 two, 3 a.m., so there was a big adjustment for everybody to make. Big thanks to you for having me 558 00:54:17,919 --> 00:54:23,320 on the podcast. For the ladies to Mike. Um, it was a great conversation. Look forward to potentially 559 00:54:23,360 --> 00:54:28,409 having more in the future. Absolutely, man. Absolutely. You're welcome back anytime. And I've 560 00:54:28,409 --> 00:54:33,050 got one more round of applause for you to say congratulations on the new marriage, man. Hope 561 00:54:33,050 --> 00:54:37,369 everything's going well there. I appreciate. It. Thank you. Thank you. Absolutely. It's an exciting 562 00:54:37,409 --> 00:54:42,649 time in life. And to find a job that can actually make those things happen for you. Getting into a 563 00:54:42,649 --> 00:54:47,729 new place, getting everybody the same spot. It's a special feeling, and we all deserve it. All right. 564 00:54:47,729 --> 00:54:53,530 So great. Thank you for sharing that Bryan. That's awesome man. And again. Awesome. You're welcome back 565 00:54:53,530 --> 00:54:58,489 here. Any time everybody that comes on this show is welcome back. Nobody's gotten under my skin yet, 566 00:54:58,489 --> 00:55:04,489 I promise. Uh, Lu, let's go to you for your final thoughts. Thank you so much for your time today. I 567 00:55:04,489 --> 00:55:08,888 hope you enjoyed your time here on the show. Uh, final thoughts before we let you get back to your 568 00:55:08,889 --> 00:55:15,889 busy day. Um, you know, Bulk Transit. You're not going to find anybody, any 569 00:55:15,889 --> 00:55:21,609 company. I don't think that is as compassionate about treating you as family as they do. Me and 570 00:55:21,610 --> 00:55:28,469 Sara both worked here during the Covid. I had just gotten custody of five of my grandchildren 571 00:55:28,470 --> 00:55:35,189 for an emergency situation and the schools were closed. As Sara has children 572 00:55:35,189 --> 00:55:41,989 too, they understand that you have a home life and we were able to juggle everything around 573 00:55:41,989 --> 00:55:48,229 and still get our work done. And Bulk Transit is 100% behind your family life too. 574 00:55:48,790 --> 00:55:53,789 Well said there. And you know, drawing on that experience, working during Covid, getting your 575 00:55:53,790 --> 00:55:59,629 custody, your grandkids. None of that stuff is easy to go through and also have to worry about work 576 00:55:59,629 --> 00:56:04,030 as well. But it sounds like it was made a little bit easier on you because of the place you work. 577 00:56:04,069 --> 00:56:11,029 Lu. They take a lot of stress off of ya, especially if you have children. I mean, I raised 578 00:56:11,030 --> 00:56:16,590 both of my kids while I worked here, and then I raised my grandkids, too. I've got one left. She'll 579 00:56:16,629 --> 00:56:23,160 be 18 in January. Wow. And, um, I don't think I could have done it 580 00:56:23,160 --> 00:56:29,239 anywhere else. That's amazing. That's I. You know what, Brian? Andrea. Brad, I know you're listening. 581 00:56:29,239 --> 00:56:33,638 That's some pretty high praise right there. That just came from Lu. Thank you so much, Lu, for your 582 00:56:33,639 --> 00:56:39,119 time. Uh, Sara. Thank you. You're welcome. And, of course, you guys are welcome back on this show 583 00:56:39,120 --> 00:56:45,279 anytime. We'd love to have two bitches in dispatch. I can't believe I just said that. I don't believe 584 00:56:45,319 --> 00:56:51,519 I have a very high opinion of you, but it is a name that you kind of own. So, uh, I appreciate you 585 00:56:51,520 --> 00:56:56,159 guys playing along with me there. Um, Sara, can we get some final thoughts from you before we let 586 00:56:56,159 --> 00:57:01,959 you get back to it? Yeah, I'm going to kind of. Go off the loose. Here. I mean, I couldn't ask. For a 587 00:57:01,959 --> 00:57:07,398 better place to work for. I mean. They. Have commentated anything that we needed, you know, kid 588 00:57:07,399 --> 00:57:13,599 wise, you know, leaving, taking to the doctor, going from there like, is that eight ball games, the 589 00:57:13,600 --> 00:57:19,198 whole nine yards. I mean, Andrea and Brian. And Brad are. Excellent to work for. I mean, anytime we have 590 00:57:19,199 --> 00:57:24,570 a problem, all we have to do is pick up a phone and they answer and they help us the best to, you 591 00:57:24,570 --> 00:57:31,049 know, their ability to be able to help it. Well said there, Sara. Thank you so much for your time. 592 00:57:31,210 --> 00:57:37,408 Sara Litzinger, Lu Ann Saunders, Mike Upchurch, Bryan Alexander. You guys knocked it out of the 593 00:57:37,409 --> 00:57:42,409 park today. Great job. Thank you so much for your time. We'll get you all back here on always 594 00:57:42,409 --> 00:57:49,009 pneumatic. Never static again soon okay. Appreciate it. Thanks, guys. Thank you. And you're 595 00:57:49,729 --> 00:57:56,570 safe out there on the road. Thank you. No more snakes. Amen to that. Yes. No 596 00:57:56,570 --> 00:57:57,208 more snakes. 597 00:58:07,490 --> 00:58:14,009 Great stuff there, Bryan, Mike, Sara, and Lu. Thank you all so much. That was a fantastic 598 00:58:14,010 --> 00:58:20,899 interview. I love episodes like this because this right here is all the stuff that you don't see. 599 00:58:21,100 --> 00:58:25,860 Uh, everybody sees the truck going down the road, right? We all see that. In fact, many of us four 600 00:58:25,860 --> 00:58:32,539 wheelers get frustrated by it. And, uh, that's a big no no, but the things that nobody sees. How about 601 00:58:32,539 --> 00:58:37,939 the 3 a.m. wake ups? How about the phone calls that start with, you're not gonna like this? Uh, the 602 00:58:37,940 --> 00:58:42,659 load that changed halfway through your day, or the dispatch office that just went from dead quiet to 603 00:58:42,700 --> 00:58:48,979 absolute chaos in 30s. And I gotta say, after hearing this today, I don't think there's a single 604 00:58:48,980 --> 00:58:54,379 person listening to this that would trade jobs for the day. Drivers are out there dealing with 605 00:58:54,379 --> 00:59:01,059 traffic, customer delays, construction, weather, birds apparently just coming out of the sky and 606 00:59:01,059 --> 00:59:06,419 trying to kill them. I I've never heard I mean dropping snakes, falling snakes. That's another 607 00:59:06,420 --> 00:59:11,459 thing you're dealing with out there as a driver. What is going on? I'm good. I'll stay right here 608 00:59:11,460 --> 00:59:18,079 behind my computer and behind the mic. I appreciate you guys to no end. Okay. Uh, but then 609 00:59:18,080 --> 00:59:22,840 let's think about this from the other side of the aisle, flip it to the office. And it's not exactly 610 00:59:22,840 --> 00:59:28,199 a spa day over there either. You've got phones ringing nonstop, loads canceling and reappearing 611 00:59:28,200 --> 00:59:32,719 five minutes later, trying to stay ahead of customers, trying to stay ahead of problems, and 612 00:59:32,720 --> 00:59:39,039 trying to fix things before anybody even realizes that they've broken. And I think that's the 613 00:59:39,040 --> 00:59:45,359 biggest takeaway from this whole conversation today. This only works because everybody works so 614 00:59:45,360 --> 00:59:52,120 well together. The driver said it, the office said it. Communication is key. That's the whole 615 00:59:52,120 --> 00:59:57,120 game. Because the second communication breaks down, that's when the day turns into a full blown 616 00:59:57,120 --> 01:00:01,319 dumpster fire. And we've all been a part of those before. And look, it's still going to happen 617 01:00:01,319 --> 01:00:06,559 sometimes anyway. That's the nature of the beast. I thought Bryan said it. Well, it comes with the 618 01:00:06,559 --> 01:00:12,119 territory. You can do everything right and you can still end up with a car getting pushed down a 619 01:00:12,120 --> 01:00:18,570 hill in the lot, a turkey in your windshield. A kitten that turns into a UFC fighter. Or a 620 01:00:18,570 --> 01:00:25,569 snake. A dead snake hanging off your mirror. Which, by the way, if that happened to me, I'm just gonna 621 01:00:25,569 --> 01:00:31,369 have to have a new truck. I'm sorry, but a snake has touched it. And not just a dead snake, but a 622 01:00:31,370 --> 01:00:37,929 dead bloody snake. And I, soft hands over here don't have the wherewithal or the 623 01:00:37,970 --> 01:00:43,688 motivation to clean this up. Let's just give this to another driver. I'll take a different one. 624 01:00:43,689 --> 01:00:50,249 Everybody's fine. Okay. But through all of that, I digress. You heard something today that we hear 625 01:00:50,249 --> 01:00:56,809 over and over again here on always pneumatic, never static. People stick around 626 01:00:56,810 --> 01:01:03,409 14 years, six years. Drivers with decades in and drivers just getting started. But you heard it, 627 01:01:03,409 --> 01:01:08,569 Bryan. The guy with the least experience of the whole crew said, I love it here. I'm. I moved my 628 01:01:08,610 --> 01:01:15,339 fiancee and kids in got married. Things are going awesome. And, that's because of the people, right? 629 01:01:15,339 --> 01:01:21,259 It's not just the job's not easy. We know that. That's simple. That's simple math, right? But the 630 01:01:21,259 --> 01:01:28,179 people that do the job do it so well and communicate so well that even when things do go 631 01:01:28,180 --> 01:01:33,299 sideways and they will, you've got dispatch picking up the phone at 2 a.m., you've got drivers 632 01:01:33,300 --> 01:01:38,299 stepping up to cover loads, and you've got managers that don't panic when everything hits at 633 01:01:38,300 --> 01:01:43,299 once. That's what keeps this thing moving, and that's what keeps people here. And honestly, that's 634 01:01:43,300 --> 01:01:50,219 what makes Bulk, Bulk. So to Lu, Sara, Mike, Bryan, you guys were awesome today. Seriously, this is 635 01:01:50,219 --> 01:01:54,419 one of the episodes where people listening and especially drivers thinking about making a move 636 01:01:54,419 --> 01:01:59,500 to a different company, they're going to hear this and go, okay, that's what it's really like. We just 637 01:01:59,500 --> 01:02:05,139 heard that from the horse's mouth and that's what really matters. So we greatly appreciate you guys 638 01:02:05,139 --> 01:02:10,819 for coming on today and being honest, sharing the stories, even the slightly terrifying wildlife 639 01:02:10,819 --> 01:02:17,080 stories. Um, and for everybody listening, stay safe out there. Obviously, drivers keep that shiny side 640 01:02:17,080 --> 01:02:23,959 up. And remember, if you take anything away from this episode today, communicate early and often. 641 01:02:23,959 --> 01:02:28,639 Mike and Bryan will tell you that's the name of the game, and Lu and Sara will tell you. If you 642 01:02:28,680 --> 01:02:34,799 don't want them barking up your tree, then keep the lines of communication open. And uh, also, if a 643 01:02:34,799 --> 01:02:41,439 hawk drops a snake on your truck today, I'm sorry. I don't know what to do in that situation other 644 01:02:41,439 --> 01:02:46,719 than just you can call me and ruminate and we'll we'll discuss it a little bit, but I you gotta you 645 01:02:46,720 --> 01:02:53,360 gotta get a new truck. We'll see you guys next week. And that's all she blows for today's 646 01:02:53,360 --> 01:02:59,239 episode of Always Pneumatic, never Static. Your number one and probably only Pneumatic Trucking 647 01:02:59,239 --> 01:03:05,199 podcast, brought to you by Bulk Transit. Thanks for rolling with us today. Till next time, stay safe. 648 01:03:05,200 --> 01:03:07,958 Keep those lines clear and keep it pumping.